We had a customer (ex: John Robert Doe Jr.) who signed the signature card and new account documentation with just his initials (JRDJ). Can we accept this? The customer is fully capable of signing his full name, he told the CSR he just wanted to sign on this account with only his initials.

Initials are not a signature. I would require that he sign his signature if he wanted to do business with us.

Assuming we are talking about a checking account, the UCC indicates that a person's signature, one capable of making him or her responsible on an instrument, is whatever he says it is. For example, "X" can be a valid signature.

If your institution wishes to assert that "JRDJ" alone would increase the risk of forgery and, thus, would be unacceptable to you, then so be it. I'm really hoping that the CSR sought advice before opening the account.

The next thing you know, the CSR could take in on herself to require that signatures be legible. That's a kettle of fish I would not want to cook. My knee-jerk reaction would be that you'd be sending away a lot of physicians.